According to reports, the application of graphene film layer not only increases the light transmission performance of the glass itself, but also the Graphene-coating modules have an attractive investment return due to their superb hydrophilicity. At present, solar PV utilities are using regular manual cleaning methods to clean the surface of photovoltaic panels. This type of cleaning method is difficult to unify the operating specifications, and it is likely to cause problems such as cracking of the PV cell and residual water stains on the surface of the module. The high labor cost increases the operational burden. In terms of cleaning costs, according to industry estimates, a photovoltaic power plant with an installed capacity of 50 MW may require up to 1 million yuan per year for cleaning maintenance. This has further inspired Znshine Solar to increase its research and development momentum for graphene self-cleaning modules.

For the self-cleaning properties of graphene-coating glass, the Znshine R&D team also conducted special outdoor simulation tests. The test results show that the graphene-coating glass has an excellent super-hydrophilic effect, it can quickly collect dust on the glass surface and remove it. There is no sewage water residue, and the glass surface maintains a long-term cleanliness, which greatly increases the level of power output by photovoltaic modules.

The specification of 300mm*300mm*3.2mm graphene-coating glass developed by Znshine Solar has passed the rigorous tests by the authoritative third-party testing laboratory and received authority certification from this agency. This is an important milestone for Znshine graphene PV application.

The graphene-coating glass technology is the result of the cooperation of Znshine Group and China University of Science and Technology.

According to the technical route plan announced by Znshine Solar, at present, the company’s graphene-coating glass is initially available. This series module capacity is 500MW and it is expected to further expand the capacity to 2GW by the end of this year. By the end of 2019, the capacity will be expanded to around 5GW.